


The Last Resort

by AllTheCatsJoinIn



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Dark, Eye for an Eye, Gabriel gets his wish, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Plagg gets his revenge, Sort Of, The final showdown with Hawk Moth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28806369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheCatsJoinIn/pseuds/AllTheCatsJoinIn
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir lose the final showdown with Hawk Moth; what happens when he gets his wish?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This snippet has been floating around in my head unformed since watching Chat Blanc. It finally clarified and I wanted to get it down, but I warn you, this is pretty dark (at least by my standards), so please read at your own risk. 
> 
> The violence isn't super graphic, but characters get hurt, there is mention of blood, injuries, and not being able to breathe, and there is character death (again, not graphic, but present). If you're triggered by any of that, please skip this story!

Ladybug screamed as Hawk Moth smashed Chat Noir’s hand, with an active cataclysm, into the wall of his lair. Chat let out a pained scream as the wall cracked and the ceiling began to rumble ominously. Before they could move, large chunks of stone began raining down on them. One piece hit Chat hard on the head and he dropped to the floor, unconscious. Ladybug had barely taken a step toward him when Hawk Moth’s cane cracked against her torso, sending her flying into the wall a few feet away from her partner. She cried out as a huge chunk of the ceiling fell and trapped her legs. Luckily there were enough pieces already on the floor that it didn’t crush her, but she was effectively pinned, barely able to breathe. Hawk Moth loomed over her with a maniacal grin on his face and tore the earrings out of her ears. She cupped a hand to one of the bleeding holes, crying as her transformation washed over her, revealing her civilian identity. He didn’t even flinch, striding indifferently over to Chat Noir with a sneer fixed on his face and tearing the ring from his limp hand. Marinette gasped as the green wash of magic revealed a familiar head of tousled blond hair. “Adrien,” she whispered brokenly, stretching out one hand but unable to move another inch as Hawk Moth stared at the boy in shock.

Marinette’s heart bled, realizing they’d been fighting his father this whole time. Oh God, Gabriel Agreste had almost killed his own son, so many times! The tears still streaming down her face increased as she realized from the increasing anger on Hawk Moth’s face that this revelation would not change his course. She closed her eyes, taking a shallow breath as she tried to wiggle out from under the rock. It was no use, though, all she could do was watch in horror as Hawk Moth donned the ring and stuck the earrings through his lapel before taking off the Butterfly pin. His transformation fell, revealing Gabriel dressed in his signature white jacket and red pants, barely a hair out of place even after their fierce battle. Plagg and Tikki appeared, and Gabriel demanded, “Tell me your names.”

Plagg and Tikki struggled against the bonds of the compulsion from the Miraculous, but eventually were forced to comply. Gabriel grinned and commanded, “Plagg, Tikki, combine!”

Instead of a transformation washing over him as Marinette had expected, Plagg and Tikki came together and then… merged… into a brightly shining ball of light with a vague suggestion of wings on either side in front of Gabriel. The glare was such that she could hardly look at it directly, instead watching Adrien’s father as his eyes closed in apparently happiness, a dour smile occupying his lean face. 

“What is your wish?” The words echoed from the light eerily, high and low tones that simultaneously hurt Marinette’s ears and rattled in her bones. 

Gabriel smiled and proclaimed, “I wish for you to revive my wife, Emilie Agreste, and return her to me.”

“There is a price,” echoed in the chamber, and Marinette could hear a hint of Plagg’s growl in the tone.

“Of course. You may take her in exchange,” Gabriel said casually, gesturing towards Marinette. She gasped, eyes going wide at his callous willingness to kill her. Somehow, even though his Akumas were sometimes deadly, she’d never imagined that her friend’s father was so lost that he could look at a teenager and condemn her to death without so much as flinching.

“ _Human_ , you think you can choose anyone as a sacrifice? _You_ are not a God, to decide who lives and who dies. This wish demands an _equal_ exchange to keep the balance. A life you prize, for a life you prize. Yourself or your son, for your wife.”

Gabriel’s mouth hung open, and he looked like the air had been knocked out of his lungs. Apparently, in all the time he had been scheming to gain the Miraculous, with all the warnings they’d issued, he’d never actually understood that he would have to give up something of equal importance for the wish.

“No…” he breathed, shaking his head in denial. “Take Nathalie, I care for her.” Looking to where the holder of the Peacock Miraculous was lying crumpled on the stairs where she’d fallen in the fight, unconscious. A flicker of remorse flitted across Gabriel’s face, but it was gone quickly enough that Marinette wasn’t even sure she had seen it.

The ball of light had no facial features, and yet she could swear it emanated disapproval and disgust.

“That is not an equal exchange,” it iterated, growing louder and causing Marinette to flinch and cover one of her ears with her free hand. “Yourself, or your son. If you do not choose, we will choose for you.”

Gabriel gasped, head turning towards his son as his hand stretched out to stay the ball of light. He hesitated, eyes flickering for a moment. Marinette closed her eyes, sobbing as she heard him say finally, “Then take my son.”

“No,” she whispered in horror, trying to scream, but she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs to be heard. She looked desperately to Adrien, but he was still unconscious, blood trickling sluggishly from his forehead and chest barely rising with each breath.

“If that is your choice,” the ball of light said, and brightened, but then dimmed, adding, “Know, your wife will have this memory. She will know why her son is dead, why she will never see him again.”

“No!” Gabriel screamed, his face contorting angrily. “You cannot show her this! It is not part of the wish.”

“Balance.” The word whispered out of the ball of light, echoing uncannily around the room and then fading into silence. Marinette could hear Gabriel’s harsh breaths over her breathless sobs as he sank to his knees.

After what seemed an eternity, he whispered brokenly, “Then take me instead. I cannot continue in a world where she is dead.”

The light brightened immediately, continuing to grow in intensity until Marinette had to scrunch her eyes shut and throw her arm over them. She thought she heard a scream, but it cut off so quickly she wasn’t sure she had even heard it before she blacked out. 

Marinette woke to the sound of her alarm and screamed, leaping up dramatically and falling out of her loft bed to the floor below.

She lay there for a second, stunned, as she tried to get her breath back. Tikki suddenly flew into her field of vision and she wheezed, desperately trying to scream again.

“Marinette, it’s okay,” Tikki said reassuringly, touching her stomach. A red glow emanated from her appendage, and Marinette could suddenly breathe again, her soreness from the fall fading away. Her mouth gaped open as a million questions raced through her mind. Before she could voice any of them, Tikki began talking.

“It was real.” Marinette felt tears well up in her eyes as she gasped. Before she could start spiraling, Tikki continued. “Gabriel Agreste was Hawk Moth. You fought him and lost, and he wished for his wife to be returned to him alive. But he had to make an equal exchange. In the end, he choose to sacrifice himself for her.”

“Only because he didn’t have another option,” Marinette sobbed, heartbroken at the thought that Gabriel had been willing to sacrifice Adrien to be reunited with his wife.

“He still could have chosen to sacrifice Adrien,” Tikki pointed out. 

Marinette shook her head. “He would never have done that if Emilie would find out. She’d never forgive him for that, and then he’d still lose her. Tikki, you saved Adrien!” She cupped the Kwami and nuzzled her into her cheek, so grateful she was temporarily at a loss for words.

Tikki sighed and said, “Actually, that was Plagg’s thought. I was going to tell him that for balance, Emilie would never be able to bear another child, but Plagg’s idea was definitely better.”

Marinette laughed and hiccupped. “Remind me never to get on your bad side!”

Tikki smiled vengefully before floating away towards Marinette’s cookie stash in the drawer of her desk. 

Marinette suddenly gasped, shooting up in alarm. “Tikki, what does Adrien know? He wasn’t awake for all of that, what is Plagg going to tell him?”

“Don’t worry Marinette,” Tikki soothed, “Plagg would never tell him what his father almost did. He’ll just be told that Gabriel chose to sacrifice himself to bring his wife back. Given that Adrien now knows Gabriel was Hawk Moth, well… I imagine he’ll need therapy, but hopefully being reunited with a parent who genuinely loves him will help as well. Emilie won’t be told either; you, me, and Plagg are the only ones who know everything that happened.”

Marinette sighed, relieved but so sad for Adrien. A tear slipped down her cheek as she threw her arms around her knees burying her head in her knees. She could not imagine what Adrien would go through this morning. Just as she started to wonder when it would be appropriate to go check on him, though, she suddenly gasped in alarm again.

“Tikki, what happened to the Butterfly Miraculous?!?”

“It’s back where it belongs,” Tikki said smugly, pointing to Marinette’s chest where she hid the Miracle box. Marinette’s eyes went wide and she stumbled quickly over to the chest. Tossing presents aside, she finally found the red and black spotted sphere. Clicking it open, she cried out in shock and profound relief to see the Butterfly Miraculous sitting innocently in its slot, a glimmer of light winking in the bright purple gem at the center of the silver wings. Closing her eyes, she exhaled, gently twisted the box to shut it, and hid it safely away again.

Looking up, she frowned as a thought occurred to her. “Tikki, what about the Peacock Miraculous?”

“Well…” Marinette twisted to see her Kwami looking remorseful, crumbs littering her face from the chocolate cookie she was munching.

“That was outside the wish. There was nothing we could do, but return the holder to her home, just as we returned everyone else.”

Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose as a feeling of intense disappointment swept over her. She had so wanted to close this chapter of her life, especially now that she knew what her poor Chaton must be going through. They didn’t have a choice, though. If they didn’t move quickly, Nathalie might escape, and she knew she couldn’t subdue Mayura by herself, especially since she was likely recovered from their fight.

She waited till Tikki was done with her snack, then reluctantly commanded, “Tikki, spots on!”

The familiar wash of pink magic sparkled over her, leaving her black-spotted red costume and mask in its place. She climbed out of the skylight onto her balcony and quickly pulled out her Bugphone to call Chat. It went to voicemail, and she sighed before deciding she’d better go collect him. As little as she wanted to bother him today, she didn’t have a choice right now.

Swinging through Paris, she was almost shocked to see how normal everything looked. Everything had changed, and yet everyone was just going about their business like the world wasn’t new and different today.

Reaching the Agreste mansion, she swung over to Adrien’s windows and peered in to see him sitting on the edge of his bed, talking with Plagg. There didn’t appear to be anyone else in his room, so she tapped on the window.

Adrien looked up and his eyes widened. After a moment, he got up and walked slowly over to the window, and Ladybug’s heart panged to see the tear tracks marring his skin.

“Adrien, I’m so, so sorry, but I need you,” she said sadly, swinging down to pull him into a hug.

“What?” he asked, his voice hoarse. He motioned frantically at Plagg, who was casually hovering a few feet away when he should have been hiding.

Ladybug sighed and said gently, “I know you’re Chat Noir. I saw you de-transform during the battle after you were hurt. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, and I hate to intrude, but I need your help. The magic returned Nathalie to her home with the Peacock Miraculous, and we need to go recover it now. I don’t know where she lives, and if we have to fight Mayura, I can’t do it alone. Can you help me?”

Adrien swallowed, looking to Plagg, who nodded solemnly. He closed his eyes, but then swiped his cheeks and nodded back resolutely. He took a deep breath and commanded, “Plagg, claws out!”

Ladybug watched in awe as the green magic of his transformation washed over him, replacing his sweatpants and white tee shirt with the black leather cat suit, complete with belt tail, baton, mask, and ears. He took out his baton and jumped out the window and she followed silently. 

He led her to a small townhouse a few blocks away, and he cataclysmed the lock on the door before she could say anything. They burst in, and quickly cased it, but Nathalie wasn’t there. It was obvious she’d run; her half-empty closet and the general disarray of her place making it clear that she’d left in a hurry. They walked down the stairs again dejected by their failure, but when Ladybug was surveying the ground floor she suddenly noticed an envelope on the kitchen table that made her breath catch. It was addressed to Ladybug. She motioned Chat over, and they opened it to find the Peacock Miraculous sitting inside with a short, hastily scribbled note.

_Ladybug,_ _I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt anyone, I just wanted to save Emilie and give Gabriel his family back. Please tell Adrien I’m sorry. I hope someday he can forgive me._

Chat had tears running down his face as he read the letter. Ladybug pulled him against her, cradling him as he cried. They sank to the floor and she rocked him as shuddering sobs tore through his body. The green magic of his de-transformation washed over him, but she barely noticed, intent on comforting her heartbroken partner.

She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, only that her legs were numb by the time Adrien finally sat up and gave her a watery smile. 

“Thanks, Bug,” he said hoarsely. “God, I can’t believe any of this.”

She squeezed his hand and nodded, helping him stand. She yelped as feeling started to return to her legs suddenly, and pins and needles stabbed her muscles. Desperately massaging her legs, she hopped around ungracefully, and Adrien released a startled laugh before kneeling and massaging her other leg. 

When she could comfortably stand, she pulled him up, and they laughed briefly before the smile fell from his face again. She reached out and squeezed his hand, and he sighed. Plagg emerged from Nathalie's fridge belching, and urged, "Come on kids, let's get this show on the road."

They laughed again before Adrien transformed and took Ladybug's hand. He tugged her gently out of the house and into the sunshine.

“Chat,” Ladybug began slowly, “I know you need time with your mom right now, but please, call if you need me. For anything. You are so important to me, and I want to help, if I can.”

Chat nodded, glancing into her earnest blue eyes as his cheeks flushed. “Thanks Bugaboo. I will.” He pulled her gently in for another hug, before smiling at her and using his baton to leap away toward his house. Ladybug sighed, storing the hopeful look in his eyes in her heart as she made her way back to the bakery. Now wasn’t the time, of course, but she hoped soon, she could be honest with Adrien about her feelings, and let him know that she loved him. He needed all the love in the world right now, and if he still wanted her to, she was ready to tell him every day until he never doubted again how much he mattered and how much she loved him.

Someday…


	2. epilogue

Gabriel awoke in a strange place. There was a swirling diffuse purple light overhead, with no visible source. He felt oddly light and disoriented. Shaking his head caused his whole body to somehow rotate, and he suddenly wondered if he had been given LSD. 

"Uuuggg..."

"Oh, good, you're awake," he heard from somewhere behind him. The voice was unfamiliar, but the tone was... worrying. He carefully maneuvered around to see... several Kwamis staring at him. Only, there was something wrong. They were too big, much bigger than any he'd ever seen.

He gasped and stared around, only to realize he was surrounded by Kwamis, all apparently many times their normal size. Suddenly he had a horrifying thought. Looking down, he screamed. Where his body should be, was a formless blob of diffuse light.

"Hello Gabriel," purred an evil voice. He looked up into the slitted green cat eyes of a malevolent God and gulped. Plagg grinned, and suddenly his razor sharp canines were big enough to be entirely menacing. Gabriel had a stray thought wondering if he could even be hurt seeing as how he apparently didn't have a body anymore, but he really, really didn't want to find out.

Nooroo came up to flank Plagg, with a look in his eyes that Gabriel had never seen before. It was not anger, reproach, or even disgust, all of which he'd been familiar with on his former Kwami's face... No, this was beyond those expressions, Nooroo's face was set in an expression of hate, the degree of which he hadn't believed the normally gentle Kwami capable. 

"You were going to sacrifice your son!" he shrieked accusingly, baring teeth in a fierce expression. "I knew you were a monster, but I never believed you would go so far!"

"I didn't," Gabriel gasped desperately, wishing to back up but conscious that there were others behind him.

"Only because we would have ensured your wife knew," Plagg retorted, disgust blanketing his expression.

"This isn't my wish!" Gabriel exclaimed desperately. While normally he would take any excuse to avoid his death and find another way back to his wife, he had a swiftly growing feeling that there were worse things than what he'd thought his fate would be.

"Of course it is," Plagg said gleefully, grinning at him in a way that would have made Gabriel sweat if he'd had a body. "You gave up your life in return for bringing back your wife."

"But I'm not dead!" Gabriel exclaimed, confused.

Plagg and Nooroo smiled at him with too many teeth. "We never actually said we would kill you, just that you would have to give up your life. Your _human_ life."

Gabriel shrieked and tried to flee, but the Kwamis pressed in behind him, holding him steady somehow. He could feel their rough handling, even though he was not sure what his current form was or how he was perceiving anything.

Plagg continued, "You are now trapped in the Miracle Box, where you will stay until someone makes a new Miraculous and invokes you. Then you will become a Kwami."

Gabriel blinked, confused. "How do I become a Kwami? I thought Kwamis were the embodiment of abstract concepts?"

Nooroo smiled at him and answered, "Normally yes. But there is a... well, a loophole, I guess you might say. Thanks to the magic of the Wish, you are now the embodiment of an abstract concept that is stuck in here for now, but might, eventually, be tied to a Miraculous. If someone ever makes another one, performs the correct ceremony, and invokes you, specifically."

Gabriel frowned and asked, "How often are new Miraculous made?"

Plagg snickered and replied, "Well, let's see, Nooroo, I think the last one was... when?"

Trixx grinned in amusement from his left and injected, "Wasn't that Fiifii, in the 1500's?"

Gabriel groaned and demanded, "And you're telling me, until then, I'm just stuck in this box like this with all of you?"

Plagg eyed Gabriel and cackled. "Well, I'm going back to Adrien in a minute, but yes, you'll be stuck in here. With all of them," indicating in a circle the group of angry looking Kwamis, stopping at Nooroo, who was staring at Gabriel with a look that he very much did not like. "Enjoy!"

There was a bright flash of light, and Plagg disappeared; apparently he'd been telling the truth about only visiting.

Gabriel frowned again and stared at Nooroo. "So what now?"

He immediately regretted asking as Nooroo smiled. "Now, Gabriel, I think we need to help you learn how to be a good Kwami for your next master. After all, if you're ever lucky enough to get out of here, you'll be serving at the whims of whoever holds your Miraculous, and I certainly want to be sure you're adequately prepared."

Gabriel screamed, only just starting to realize the ramifications of his hubris, but there was no one to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I actually didn't intend to add to this, but Gabriel just... makes me sooo mad, and I had a thought about this story. I was actually a little bit sympathetic towards him until I saw Chat Blanc, but after that episode... well... him and Nathalie deserve all the Karma they've got coming to them. This was sort of cathartic to write, though it was a little darker than I'd meant. Seems to be a theme for this snippet. Ah well.


End file.
